I think I did it backwards ! In my 35 years of teaching , I taught second grade, fifth and sixth grades, first grade and now, preschool and Kindergarten! Each time, I started a new grade, I thought, “Wow ! this is harder than I thought!”. As you go down in grade levels, obviously the students are less independent, need more guidance and you feel as though you are “starting from scratch” ! Teaching the beginning blocks of literacy requires a lot and using activities to teach sight words is a must. I have found that a multi sensory approach is most beneficial.
After 33 years in the elementary classroom, I left the classroom and became the director of a daycare and preschool. Kuddos to those who have been in the daycare industry for a long time! Phew it is hard ! This year, we decided to add a kindergarten to our Center. Many of the public school kindergarten programs are half day. We wanted to take the opportunity to give our “kids” the best , structured full day kindergarten we could offer. It was not the plan for me to teach the class, but alas, I have spent the year teaching kindergarten!
Ever since I was little, I wanted to teach reading! One of my favorite role models, was the head teacher in the resource room in my elementary school. As a student, I never went to the resource room but my senior year in high school, I left every day at noon and went to help Miss Rosencranz in the resource room in my old elementary school! Miss R definitely gave me a passion for teaching reading and as I went on to a masters degree in reading , she was always was my inspiration. I absolutely loved teaching first and second grades. My favorite part was watching my young students blossom into new readers. Sometimes it was hard when students were struggling, but that made it more of a challenge, and I love a challenge !
Activities To Teach Sight Words To Young Readers
In teaching reading, all our teaching must be intentional. The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority defines intentional teaching as, “Intentional teaching is an active process and a way of relating to children that embraces and builds on their strengths, interests, ideas and needs. It requires teachers to be purposeful in their decisions and actions”.
Phonemic awareness and sight words must be taught and practiced multiple times in multiple ways. In this post, I am concentrating on sight words and will discuss phonological awareness in other posts on this blog. I am a firm believer in a multisensory approach to everything I teach, especially reading. Not every child learns the same way and we need to use as many approaches as we have needs in our classroom.
First, I am a huge fan of the Orton Gillingham approach to sight words, my kindergartners do too ! If you are familiar with the program, you know that it includes crossing hemispheres with arm tapping, finger sliding, finger tracing and writing. This approach to “red words”, those that you have to STOP and think about , uses a multi sensory approach to learn these words that cannot always be decoded easily. In the rest of this post, I will give you some effective and fun ways to get the kids moving and memorizing those sight words.
Activities To Teach Sight Words-Sensory Ideas
Using playdough and shaving cream, sand and even applesauce to practice our sight words is always a favorite. An easy idea is to use cookie sheets from the dollar store they are so handy and can be used to hold the shaving cream , sand or applesauce.
Give the students cards with each sight word, they can put the cards next to the tray and practice “writing” their words. Kindergarteners love making snakes with play dough and making the letters to complete each sight word. Give students laminated cards with the sight words and have them make the play dough words right on the laminated cards.
Activities To Teach Sight Words- “Bumpy Boards”
An idea I got during my Orton Gillingham training has been so valuable. I bought several needle point canvases from Michaels and cut them in half. First the children place a piece of copy paper on top of what we call our “bumpy boards”. Then they write our words out and then remove the canvas and trace the bumpy word with our fingers. My students think it is so cool and love retracing their words over and over !
Sight Word Puzzles and Games
During center time, sight word puzzles are great because it they cause students manipulate the letters in the words and helps them with memorizing and it is fun. I used to simply write the words on index cards, cut between the letters and have the children put them back in order. However, this year, I got fancy in my kindergarten classroom and created puzzles with pictures. The first theme is monsters and the kids love them! I just print , laminate and cut and keep them in small storage tubs from the dollar store.
Additionally, we have concentration games, board games, roll and cover games and spinner games in our classroom. The children love the games and ask to play them every day! It is such a great way to get them to practice and memorize their sight words! Try some of the ideas in your classroom and watch the learning begin!!
Sight Word Songs
Another great idea is singing. My Kindergartners LOVE to sing! They sing all- the- time ! I decided to use their love of singing and found a fun song online to the tune of BINGO. They love to clap along.
Whatever you choose, the more fun they have and the more interactive the activity, the easier it will be for you students to remember their sight words! Have fun !
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